Published: Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 01:00 PM.

Often working 18- to 19-hour days and staying after hours to mentor and help students are tasks that aren’t beyond the norm for combat instructors, according to Wrenn, an artilleryman. It’s all in an effort to keep them motivated, help them study and teach them how to be successful, he said.

“If you put in those extra hours and keep in mind the effect you have on those Marines — that you’ve touched and influenced them — then you will, in turn, put out a better product,” Wrenn said. “If I’ve done that with at least one person here at the School of Infantry, then I set out to accomplish what I came here for.”

Having known Wrenn since 2010, Staff Sgt. Joshua Barber, 29, of Jacksonville and an instructor at the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Academy aboard Camp Johnson, said Wrenn is a “consummate professional” and “the picture-perfect Marine.”

Despite knowing each other as the same rank, Barber said he has been a mentor, friend and inspiration to better himself as a Marine. The number one thing he has taught him, Barber said, is patience — something that has bettered him as a man and a Marine.

“Everything about him makes him the perfect recipient of this award,” Barber said.

During the ceremony, Wrenn’s wife, Dawn, was presented a letter of appreciation from the School of Infantry leadership — something she said is appreciated but not necessary.

During a small ceremony Friday, Gunnery Sgt. Aubrey Wrenn, 32, of Jacksonville was selected as the Marine Corps Instructor of the Year, which earned him a meritorious promotion to his current rank, as friends, family and fellow Marines from his career sat in the audience.

His journey to winning the title began in 2012, when he won the Marine Combat Training Instructor of the Quarter award, followed by the School of Infantry award and then the East Coast instructor of the Year award.

The final competition was East Coast versus West Coast and Wrenn came out on top.

“This is the pinnacle,” he said after the ceremony. “But the best part is that I still get to instruct more and more Marines each day and be an example to each and every combat instructor.

“I get to show them that if you apply yourself and take what you do to heart …then you, too, can be successful,” he said. “This validates my efforts for not only me, but for every other Marine. It shows that hard work does get recognized.”

Often working 18- to 19-hour days and staying after hours to mentor and help students are tasks that aren’t beyond the norm for combat instructors, according to Wrenn, an artilleryman. It’s all in an effort to keep them motivated, help them study and teach them how to be successful, he said.

“If you put in those extra hours and keep in mind the effect you have on those Marines — that you’ve touched and influenced them — then you will, in turn, put out a better product,” Wrenn said. “If I’ve done that with at least one person here at the School of Infantry, then I set out to accomplish what I came here for.”

Having known Wrenn since 2010, Staff Sgt. Joshua Barber, 29, of Jacksonville and an instructor at the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Academy aboard Camp Johnson, said Wrenn is a “consummate professional” and “the picture-perfect Marine.”

Despite knowing each other as the same rank, Barber said he has been a mentor, friend and inspiration to better himself as a Marine. The number one thing he has taught him, Barber said, is patience — something that has bettered him as a man and a Marine.

“Everything about him makes him the perfect recipient of this award,” Barber said.

During the ceremony, Wrenn’s wife, Dawn, was presented a letter of appreciation from the School of Infantry leadership — something she said is appreciated but not necessary.

“It means a lot to see him recognized among his peers, but it doesn’t validate him any more in my mind,” said Dawn Wrenn. “In my eyes, I see that he puts in heart and soul. I know that if he had won this or not, wherever he goes, he will rise to the top.